


I Am Burning Brighter

by of_course_it_is_for_you



Series: SuperPowers AU [2]
Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Multi, Super Powers AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-09
Updated: 2015-09-25
Packaged: 2018-04-19 21:13:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4761212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/of_course_it_is_for_you/pseuds/of_course_it_is_for_you
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As promised, the extras set in the "I Am The Fire" universe (or, less commonly known as my SuperPowers AU universe). I wasn't really sure what could appear in chapters, since pretty much all of the stories will be requests, so I'm just putting up a mature rating just in case. </p><p>Thanks for bearing with me in this AU!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beautiful With You

**Author's Note:**

> So the chapters aren't going to linear, obviously, because I'm just going to write requests as the appear. Once again, I'll do a chapter-by-chapter listing of the powers that each character has in the chapter (especially since they /aren't/ going to be linear, it'll be nice to reference, right?)
> 
> So I'm going to be off at school /and/ working a musical during the time period that I'm going to be writing and posting these, so bear with me if I post them really slowly. 
> 
> Also, as of right now, these are all unBeta'd, so if there are any mistakes they're mine! Please point them out so I can fix them!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading "I Am The Fire"! I hope these extras hold up to your standards!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> laferry. *chant intensifies* LaFerry. *chant intensifies* LAFERRY!
> 
> So, here it is. Including the big (or not so big?) talk. Not entirely sure I like the layout of this chapter, or how short it is, but I wanted to pump it out before I head off to school tomorrow (whoop whoop!). 
> 
> I also added a space in between paragraphs because it looks better. I'll probably go back through IATF and change that, but that's for a time when I'm not packing last minute (oh man, I literally shouldn't have left everything until the last day. never let me do that again).
> 
> Warning: there's some childhood LaF, and although I don't think they're blatantly gendered female I think it's implied. They hadn't figured themselves out yet, so yeah.

You’ll never forget the day in second grade when a new girl with outrageously curly red hair walks into the classroom half an hour after class starts.

 

“I’m sorry I’m late,” she mutters, glancing down at her feet nervously and pulling on her plaid skirt. “My parents had to check me in and I think I got lost…”

 

“No worries, dear,” your teacher, Mr. Spencer, smiles as he walks over to her from the whiteboard and takes the slip of paper from her shaking hands. “Would you like to introduce yourself to your new classmates?”

 

“I’m Lola Perry,” she looks up and around, taking in everyone, but when her eyes meet yours they don’t look away. You smile back at her, because you _definitely_ want to be friends with this girl. Most of the other kids in your class pick on you because you love science so much that you try to do experiments during recess and lunch, instead of playing tetherball. Lola smiles at you, and it's the brightest smile you’ve ever seen, even though she’s missing both of her lateral incisors. You suppose the fact that you know what the heck lateral incisors are at the age of seven is part of the reason the other kids don’t like to hang out with you.

 

Some higher up _has_ to be looking out for you, because the seat next to you has been empty ever since Tyler moved away last month. You have to say you were pretty relieved when he did, because he never shut up and you could barely hear Mr. Spencer’s lessons.

 

Mr. Spencer shows Lola to the seat, and she sets her huge backpack down before sliding into it and pulling out a notebook and a mechanical pencil. Mr. Spencer then makes his way back to the front of the classroom and flicks on the projector. 

 

You groan and drop your head to your desk because there are like twenty math practice problems on the whiteboard. The other kids all start to write down the problems and solve them; you can hear all of their pencils scratching.

 

You don’t hear Lola start to write.

 

“You don’t like math?” the redhead whispers next to you, and you raise your head to see that she’s frowning at you. It didn’t look good on her.

 

“It’s the worst! Science is way better, because it’s like applying math to real life. You can’t blow anything up with addition problems on a stupid paper, but if you add the right chemicals together, _boom_!” you whisper back and Lola laughs softly and shakes her head. “Wait, don’t tell me that math is your favorite.”

 

“You got me,” she holds up both of her hands, a smile back on her face. “If you’re having trouble I can help teach you.”

 

“I doubt you’re going to make me like math,” you grumble, turning back to your paper and writing down the first problem as slowly as you can. If you wait long enough Mr. Spencer will post the answers on the board and you can just copy them down to turn them in. The redhead next to you starts to do the problems as well.

 

“I bet you I can,” Lola says after a bit. You look up at her to see that she’s still concentrating on her work, but it doesn’t really seem like it takes any time at all for her to answer the problems.

 

“What are you willing to give up?” you ask.

 

Lola shrugs. “We’ll figure out what _you_ will owe me when I win. You can come over today after school and we’ll start.”

 

You’ve only just met and this girl is already offering to hang out? Awesome! You look back to your nearly empty paper that only has your name and one math problem on it.

 

“Oh, I’m Susan,” you say, looking back at Lola. “Susan LaFontaine.”

 

Lola smiles at you and nods back towards your paper. “Nice to meet you Susan. Your first tutoring assignment is to actually _do_ the problems that are on the board.”

 

You sigh, but work as fast as you can on the stupid addition problems.  

 

 

* * * *

You’re not entirely sure when you started falling for Perry. You think you’ve always felt a deeper connection to her, _especially_ since you came out as non-binary, but it wasn’t until you met a certain tiny journalism student with empathy powers that you realized that you were completely and utterly in love with Perry.

 

“Why haven’t you told Perry about your feelings yet?” Laura asks, turning the page of her textbook. You two were studying in the library—well, you _were_ studying until she just dropped that question. Who the hell does this kid think she is, asking you this after only knowing you for three weeks?

 

You snap your laptop closed, your heart pounding in your chest. Laura raises an eyebrow at you from across the wooden table. “What?” you ask sharply.

 

“You clearly have feelings for her, LaF. I’m just curious after all these years why you haven’t told her,” Laura goes back to reading her book.

 

“I—what? I don’t have _those_ feelings for Perry. She’s my best friend,” you say, but it doesn’t seem convincing. You’d never really thought about her as anything more than a best friend, but now that you’re thinking about it…

 

Laura picks up on your hesitation. “You don’t really believe that.”

 

“L, you’re insane,” you shake your head, and _could she just drop the subject already_.

 

“That may be true, but you know I’m right about this,” the journalism student snaps her textbook closed and picks up her empty drink container—the mount of hot chocolate that girl consumes is truly alarming. Laura goes to leave, but suddenly stops herself and looks back at you, frowning slightly. “I had no idea that you didn’t know, LaF. I definitely would’ve kept my mouth shut if I did. I really try and keep people’s emotions private, like they’re meant to be. I’m sorry, I was just trying to be a good friend and—”

 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” you stop her rant, standing up and crossing around the table towards her. “You’re okay, L. I’m not offended or anything. I just…”

 

“Hadn’t really thought about it?” Laura smiles, and is back to her normal self. _Good. You’ve never been around a worried Laura before and you’re pretty sure you wouldn’t know what to do. Helping people is more Perry’s thing_.

 

“Yeah. I kind of assumed what I feel for Perry is what most people feel about their best friends,” you shrug.

 

Laura puts her hand on your arm. “If it helps, I’ve never read anyone that feels that way about their best friend. And now that I’ve essentially ruined your day, I have to go to class. You know where to find me if you ever get really confused and need help figuring out your feelings.”

 

Laura heads out and you sit back down, but you don’t open your laptop back up.

 

 _Well, shit_.

 

 

* * * *

You hear the door open and you instantly smile. “Are you home, LaFontaine?” Perry calls.

 

“I’m right here, Perr!” you respond, shooting one last zombie and pausing the game. The curly redhead in question appears from the entrance hallway and sets her bag on the counter before heading over to sit next to you on the couch.

 

Perry always complains how small the suite the two of you share is, but all in all it’s basically like a small apartment. Both of you have your own broom closet of a room, along with a tiny kitchen and a small living room area, complete with a couch and TV. Perry even bought you a Playstation last year so that you would stop doing experiments in your suite. You’re still not entirely sure how many times you can apologize for accidentally setting your hair on fire before she’ll let you start experimenting again.

 

“How was the meeting?” you ask, setting the controller down as she takes a seat next to you. Perry had just come back from helping a some girl named Mary with her personal problems; you’ve only seen her in passing, but Perr’s met with her several times because apparently that girl is a magnet for drama.

 

“It was okay,” she shrugs, settling farther into the couch. You have to admit you’re pretty curious as to what problem she had to solve.

 

“Any boy problems, or girl problems, or period problems?” you ask.

 

“No, just the usual: complaining about her neighbors again,” Perry breathes out. “She’s a really sweet girl, it’s just…”

 

You nod and put your hand on her knee. “Kids these days, am I right?”

 

Perry laughs, and your stomach flips because _that is one beautiful sound_. “So do you have training tonight with Carmilla?

 

“No, we met before her afternoon class and trained a bit,” you respond, rolling your shoulders to attempt to relieve the soreness. “She does not make it easy, let me tell you.”

 

Perry frowns and motions for you to turn around and she puts her hands on your shoulders. You relax into her touch when she starts massaging, flinching a few times when she hits a rough muscle knot.

 

“So I’ve been thinking…” she trails off.

 

“Oh no,” you say. “What am I going to get roped into doing now?” Perry digs a bit into your back. “Ow, hey! Kidding. Sort of. You know I’ll do whatever crazy thing you’ve signed us up for now.”

 

“I was thinking about how long we’ve been friends,” she continues. “Remember the day we first met in second grade?”

 

You hum. “I remember you making me do stupid math problems.”

 

Perry laughs. “As I recall you _chose_ to do them on your own. I just gave you the motivation to do so. But isn’t it crazy how we’re still friends after all these years?”

 

“Yeah, I guess we were just meant to be,” you say. Her hands freeze, and _oh god you just said something that significant others say, not best friends_. You turn around, ignoring the protesting from your muscles, and see that Perry is looking at you oddly.

 

“What?” you ask, your stomach squirming—and not in the good way.

 

She reaches forward and pulls your hands in hers. “I just want to put this out there, because what we’re about to do is really dangerous and there are so many outcomes and I’m just not entirely sure that—”

 

“Perr, breathe,” you instruct, and she gives you the _cutest_ half-smile and takes a few lungfuls of air. You can’t help but smile stupidly back at her.

 

“LaFontaine…I think that I’m in love with you,” she says slowly. Your stomach squirms—now in the good way—and suddenly your heart is pounding in your chest.

 

“I’m pretty sure I’ve been in love with you for a very long time,” you manage to say. _Is this really happening?_

 

Perry gives you the most stunning smile that you’ve ever seen—and considering that pretty much all of the best smiles you’ve ever seen are from her, this is saying something. “I know… I didn’t really realize it before now, but I know that I have feelings for you. I think for some reason I always knew that I loved you more than a best friend does, I just never really put it together.”

 

“You and me both,” you chuckle, giving her hands a squeeze. “It wasn’t until I met Laura that I realized that you were _way_ more than a friend to me.”

 

Perry raises an eyebrow and pulls her hands away from yours. “Seriously? That was over a year ago! Please tell me you haven’t been giving me googly eyes and I’ve been too oblivious to notice.”

 

You laugh. “Hey, the only reason I figured it out when I did was because the girl with _empathy_ powers accidentally pointed it out. It would probably be years before I would’ve gotten my head out of my ass enough to figure out my feelings for you.”

 

She runs a hand through her hair— _wow—_ and laughs along with you. “We are such idiots.”

 

You shrug. “Yeah, we are. But now at least we can be idiots _together_. Wait, this is definitely confirming that we  _are_  together, right?"

 

Perry laughs. "Yes, LaFontaine, we're now officially together." 

 

Both of you sit there and just take each other in for a few awkward seconds. You observe how her orange hair is just flawlessly gorgeous, or how beautiful her blue eyes are, or how _killer_ her jawline is. Those things you’ve definitely noticed before now. What you hadn’t really noticed before is how amazing her lips look—whatever shade of lipstick she’s wearing today is now your new favorite.

 

“Can I—uh…” Perry nervously trails off, looking away and ruffling her hair with her hand again. _She really needs to stop doing that; you’re going to have a heart attack_. Her stunning blue eyes lock with yours again. “Can I kiss you?”

 

Your heart is in your throat right about now. Words can’t seem to make their way to your mouth, so you just nod and she scoots closer to you.  She reaches and runs her hand along your cheek before trailing it over your ear and through your hair, finally settling on the back of your neck. This, of course, causes you to break out in another dopey smile. Perry raises an eyebrow, asking for permission to continue. You nod quickly, and she gives you a soft smile before starting to lean in and closing her eyes.

 

 _Oh, shit, close your lips you idiot,_ you remind yourself. Just in time—less than a second later, her lips meet yours.

 

Both of you are awkward and clumsy—you’re pretty sure this is the first time that both of you have kissed anyone—but you wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. After a few seconds she pulls away and both of you slowly open your eyes.

 

“So how was that?” Perry asks.

 

You’re too stunned to respond, so you just give her the biggest smile you can manage and give a thumbs up.

 

“Oh my _god,_ LaFontaine,” she rolls her eyes. “A thumbs up, really?”

 

You laugh. “Sorry, I just don’t have words to describe how amazing that was.”

 

Perry sits back against the couch and hums in agreement. She notices where you are paused in the video game you were playing. “So are you finally past the museum level?”

 

And just like that, the awkward spell is somewhat broken. You two are just back to being how you were before—just now you can hopefully kiss her a lot. “Hey! You know I’m really bad at stealthing around the infected!”

 

“Maybe I can be your good luck,” Perry smiles, handing you the controller. You sit back on the couch and before you know it Perry’s leaning into you, so you wrap an arm around her and hold the controller between the two of you.

 

You go back and forth between playing, checking your phone—there’s no way you _couldn’t_ tell Laura—and making out. You can’t help it; sometimes Perry jumps when a zombie comes lunging at your character and it’s just so adorable that you can’t help but kiss her.

 

The door suddenly opens in the middle of your third make out session.

 

“Oh, jeez!” Laura covers her eyes with one hand as you and Perry jump apart. “I’m sorry! I guess now the ‘walk in any time’ rule is now the ‘please knock before you enter’ rule.”

 

You laugh. “It could’ve been worse.” Perry hits you lightly and you hold up your hands in defense. “Hey!”

 

“Should I go?” Laura asks, and although you would rather just make out with Perry again you know the redhead is going to allow her to stay.

 

“No of course not! Please come on in,” Perry motions next to her on the couch.

 

Laura walks in and that’s when you realize that she’s carrying a bag of groceries. She sets it down by the couch and pulls out—of course—a box of cookies. After grabbing a couple she offers the box to you and Perry. You take a few and then set the box on the couch between Perry and Laura.

 

“Hey, you finally got past the museum level!” Laura glances at the screen.

 

You groan and Perry laughs in response, but she wraps her arm around your waist as everyone settles back into the couch. You're instantly less annoyed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Want some more of LaFerry being dorks together? Got some silly idea that would be ridiculous? Request it! Either through my tumblr or right here in the comments. 
> 
>  
> 
> List of Powers: 
> 
> Laura- empathy/empathy clairaudience, emotional manipulation, telekinetic blast
> 
> Perry- health manipulation, force field generation
> 
> LaF- organic manipulation
> 
> Danny- fire/electricity manipulation
> 
> Kirsch- shapeshifting, specifically animals
> 
> Carmilla- shadow manipulation, shadow portal creation
> 
> Will-teleportation, enhanced strength
> 
> Every single power that I use I refer to http://powerlisting.wikia.com/wiki/Superpower_Wiki .
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks!


	2. Break In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So I got a request for Hollstein fluff and also Hollstein dealing with Carmilla's new disability. At first this chapter was going to be both of those things, but honestly I'm not entirely sure it ended up to be either of them. 
> 
> Sort of fluff? But I feel like there's also angst? So, I'm not sure. There's definitely going to be a chapter that delves deeper into Carmilla and Laura dealing with the aftermath of the compound, but this can sort of be the beginning to that. 
> 
> PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE LISTEN TO "BREAK IN" BY HALESTORM IF YOU HAVEN'T. (I know, I normally /hate/ song fics, but this song fits pretty well I think, and I literally couldn't stop thinking about it while I was stuck in traffic on the way to work this entire week, so yeah)
> 
> Once again Unbeta'd, so please point out any mistakes.

You had no idea that Carmilla could play the piano until one day both of you were hanging out at Mattie’s bar after class, about a week before winter break. Somehow you’d managed to drag her out of the apartment—she hadn’t been out of her room in nearly two days except to eat.

 

“Come on, Carm!” you’d asked through her door. “Mattie invited us to come and hang out at the bar tonight! Apparently Elsie’s band is playing.”

 

There had been no response.

 

“Carmilla! I have class in twenty and I don’t want to be late because I’m trying to convince you to go! You got your casts off last week and it’ll be nice to see everyone again,” you’d hit your head against the door in frustration. “Please?” you whispered.

 

“Okay,” she answered quietly, and so _not_ like Carmilla. You pulled your head back from the door in hope that she’d open it; from how softly she had answered you knew she had to have been just on the other side of it.

 

She didn’t, and after a few seconds you sighed and said, “I’ll come and get you after class in a couple of hours. Please be ready by the time I get back!”

 

Surprisingly, she had been fully dressed with her bedroom door wide open (which had been the first time since she’d come home) when you’d gotten back. You leaned up against the doorway and watched her silently for a couple of seconds while she’d read, sitting cross-legged, on her unmade bed.

 

There were circles under her eyes, and you _knew_ she hasn’t slept properly in a long time. You had offered to help her with her dreams—you could literally assuage the nightmares—but she refused. There was only so much you could do; if anything hadn’t changed from before, it was how stubborn Carm was.

 

Carmilla caught you staring at her and you smiled warmly at her. “Ready to go?”

 

Your girlfriend ( _girlfriend_ ) nodded and grabbed the crutch (she doesn't really need it that much anymore, but you won't let her leave the house without it) leaning up against her bed, set her book down on the bed, and stood up. This surprised you—she hadn’t gone anywhere without a book since she’d gotten back from the hospital. She would mostly use the reading as an excuse so that she didn’t have to participate in conversations. 

 

Traffic didn’t seem to be on your side, but both of you had arrived at the bar pretty early—it was around six, and Elsie’s band wasn’t even scheduled to go on until at least ten.

 

You gazed in through the glass window before you both headed inside. The band had apparently been rehearsing earlier today, because all of their instruments were set up on the small stage in the corner of the room. None of the members are in sight; you figure they're out on a dinner break. 

 

Mattie and a couple of her bartenders are setting up the bar for the night when you walk in.

 

“Darlings!” Mattie walks around the bar and makes her way towards you. She wraps Carmilla up in a somewhat awkward hug thanks to her crutch, and a few seconds later gives you one as well. “How goes life?”

 

Carmilla looks to you, knowing that you’ll be the one to answer. “It’s going. Just trying to get back to how it was before.”

 

Mattie nods. “Well, I’m glad you managed to make it out. From how they sounded earlier, Elsie’s band is going to put on quite a show.”

 

“Awesome! I’m sorry we’re really early, I just figured we could catch up, you know?” you say.

 

“It’s no bother at all! I’m glad to see you, really,” the tall woman responds, and all three of you make your way to one of the tall empty tables in the center of the room.

 

“So is the bar doing well?” you ask.

 

You and Mattie make small talk for a few minutes, but you two really only have so much in common and it starts to get a bit awkward after a bit.

 

Carmilla starts to pick at her fingers, and she’s practically radiating nervousness. Normally she can hide behind a book, so you’re really the only one that knows that she’s anxious, but she left her only form of a shield back lying on her bed.

 

“Well, I’ve got to go and check on things, so I’ll just leave you two here. Try not to get all PG-13 in here, okay?” Mattie smiles before standing up and heading to the back.

 

“You could have at least tried to have a conversation with her,” you sigh, sounding way more frustrated than you actually are. You wish you could take back what you said, because instantly Carmilla feels guilty.

 

She looks down at the table and refuses to make eye contact. “I—I’m sorry.”

 

You frown. “You know I didn’t—look, I’m sorry I got frustrated, okay? It’s just, Mattie isn’t really the type of person I would normally hang out with, you know? So I didn’t exactly know what to talk about.”

 

Carmilla looks up to you and nods, the ghost of a smile on her face. “Can I, uh…make it up to you?”

 

“There’s really nothing to—”

 

“Please, cup—cupcake,” she reaches across the table and puts her hand on yours. She hasn’t made contact with you like that in a long time.

 

“Okay,” you nod, and Carmilla leaves her crutch leaning on the table as slides off of the barstool. You follow her slowly over to the corner of the room where the band instruments are set up. At this point you’re thinking that she’ll probably pick up the guitar and play you something—Carmilla definitely seems like the type to play guitar—but instead she throws herself on the bench in front of the keyboard.

 

“Don’t look so…so surprised,” she smirks, and _wow_ you didn’t realize how much you missed her smirk.

 

She places her hands on the keyboard and lightly presses down a couple of chords. You don’t even care that they’re probably the simplest notes in the world; if Carmilla’s playing them, they’re beautiful.

 

Your girlfriend starts to play a melody, and watching her fingers fly across the keyboard so swiftly and smoothly mesmerizes you. You realize that you recognize the song—Carmilla had been listening to it one night when she had fallen asleep on the couch. You’d pulled her earphones out when you were giving her a blanket to cover up with and you couldn’t help but put them in your own ears to see what song she’d been using to ignore you all night.

 

You’re about to comment when she surprises you even more by singing.

 

“ _Put your lighter in the air and lead me back home,_

_When it’s all said and done I’ll follow the echoes,_

_I hear you night after night calling out my name,_

_And I find myself running to meet you,_

_I didn’t want to escape_

_From the bricks that I laid down_ ,”

 

Carmilla doesn’t look up to you, but she’s smiling. Her speech problems seem to disappear when she’s singing, and her voice absolutely floors you. She keeps her eyes to her moving hands as she starts to sing the chorus:

 

_“You are the only one,_

_The only one that sees me,_

_Trusts me and believes me,_

_You are the only one,_

_The only one that knows me_

_And in the dark you show me_ _…_ ”

 

She finally looks up at you for the last few lines, and you can tell she’s not as confident as she probably would have been before the incident, but she’s still more at ease than she’s ever been. You take note; maybe you could try and get a keyboard for the apartment.

 

“ _Yeah it’s perfectly reckless,_

_Damn, you leave me defenseless,_

_So break in,_

_Break in._ ”

 

Carmilla’s voice broke slightly when she belted the last couple words. She grimaces and looks down, clearly scolding herself for messing up. You move closer to her and place your hand on her shoulder, letting her know that it didn’t matter. She keeps replaying a couple of bars over and over again, and you figure she’s trying to compose herself before she continues.

 

“ _You let me fall apart without letting go,_

_Then you pick up the pieces and you make me whole,_

_I didn’t want to escape,_

_From the bricks that I laid down,”_

 

You wrap your arms around her neck and put your chin on the top of her head as she sings the chorus again. You thought that maybe she’d mess up again—you would definitely be distracted if she was all over you like this—but she doesn’t seem phased. She continues flawlessly into the bridge of the song.

 

“ _And take everything I have,_

_Until I have nothing left,_

_Until it’s just your voice in my head,_

_And when the lights come one,_

_You see me as I am,_

_You’re still inside me,”_

 

Your girlfriend turns her head to look up at you as she sings the chorus one last time. She has the ghost of a smile on her lips, and her eyes have more life in them than you’ve seen in a while.

 

In this moment, Carmilla’s genuinely happy.

 

“ _Put your lighter in the air and lead me back home…_ ”

 

As soon as her lips stop moving you pull her into a kiss. Her brain seems to freeze at that moment because her fingers just kind of crash down onto the keyboard and play an ugly array of notes.

 

Carmilla kisses you back eagerly until you hear someone clearing their throat behind you, causing you to jump back.

 

“Why is it you always use _my_ keyboard to get girls?” Elsie asks. Carmilla rolls her eyes and stands up.

 

“It’s p—probably because I can play it, uh… play it better than you, and I’m not even the—the uh, lead singer of a band,” Carmilla says and heads toward the empty bar. Elsie raises an eyebrow and half-smiles, impressed with the shadow-bender’s snarky response.

 

“Asshole,” Elsie calls out just as the front door opens and LaFontaine and Perry walk in.

 

“You must be talking about Carmilla,” LaF smirks. The girl in question doesn’t swivel on the bar stool, but instead just raises her hand behind her back and flips LaFontaine off.

 

“Glad to see you too, Carmilla,” Perry sighs as LaFontaine chuckles in response.

 

Kirsch, Danny, and Will arrive about a half hour later and the bar slowly starts to fill with more and more people. J.P. even joins you, much to Carmilla’s annoyance. All of you snag a booth before they all fill up and spend the time catching up. Although you’ve all seen each other periodically, you haven’t all really gotten together since the incident.

 

You almost protest when Carmilla orders a drink along with everyone else, but you stop yourself. She came out here to have a good time, and you figure a couple of drinks aren’t going to hinder her too much.

 

Deep down, you hope it will actually help her loosen up. And maybe you’re selfish for wanting Carmilla to have at least one good night after all that’s happened, but _someone_ should want that for her, right?

 

By the time Elsie’s band (called Study Buddies, for some odd reason that Carmilla refuses to share with you) takes the stage the bar is packed with people. Most of them flock to the small stage as soon as all of the band members climb onto it and do a quick sound check.

 

J.P, Kirsch, and Danny leave the booth and head into the crowd of people. After everything had cooled down, Danny and Elsie had sort of actually become friends. Apparently Elsie had been a part of Summer Society before she dropped out of college. The two bonded over coming up with a Presidency campaign plan for Danny, who had a lot of catching up to do after disappearing for a few of weeks.

 

You’re not entirely sure who’s more annoyed that the two have been hanging out together almost every day: Kirsch or Carmilla.

 

Study Buddies starts their set and everyone realizes that there’s no way that a conversation can continue at a normal speaking level. LaF then drags Perry back to the bar to get another round of drinks for everyone.

 

Will leans in and says something in Carmilla’s ear. You raise an eyebrow at her from across the table, but she gives nothing away as to what her brother is saying. When he pulls away she smirks, leaving you confused.

 

“Anything you want to share?” you yell over the guitar solo. This time it’s Will’s turn to smirk as Carmilla shakes her head. You decide not to pry; whatever he said caused the last remnants of your girlfriend’s nervousness to disappear.

 

LaF and Perry return with the drinks a minute later, and Perry asks if anyone want to join her and LaFontaine as they ventured over to the crowd of people that had started dancing when the band started playing.

 

Carmilla, unsurprisingly, shakes her head no. Will also doesn’t seem that inclined to dance, but you decide to take them up on the offer. You know that the siblings haven’t had much alone time together, and you want to make sure that if they have to talk about anything that there’s an opportunity.

 

So you drain the last of your drink before heading of with LaF and Perry to the mass of moving bodies. The first song ends and Elsie says something snarky into the microphone before they continue onto the next. Fortunately it’s an upbeat song, so everyone continues dancing.

 

At first you feel pretty self-conscious and you sort of just bob to the beat; you are by no means a great dancer. But once you see Perry and LaFontaine dancing awkwardly around you, not really giving a shit about what they look like, you decide to join them. Suddenly Kirsch, Danny, and J.P. appear around you, dancing a bit more coordinated than the redheaded couple.

 

Your body moves to the beat and you forget all about your homework, the finals that you’re going to have to take next week, about the huge pile of dishes you’ll have to do once you get back to your apartment. You forget about the events that happened back at the compound, and forget about your girlfriend shutting everyone out and not getting the help that she needs.

 

For a little bit it’s just you, the music, and your friends around you.

 

(Nobody tell Carmilla about the cliché moment, she’d probably vomit).

 

Eventually the band settles into a slow song, Elsie’s piano and voice being the main focus. LaFontaine smirks at you from across the circle of friends and you give them a confused look before arms suddenly snake around your waist.

 

You jump and spin around to find Carmilla standing there, eyebrow raised.

 

“You scared me,” you hit her arm lightly, and she laughs. _Laughs_. You’ve missed that sound.

 

“Can’t help it if y—if you get scared easily, creampuff,” she smirks at you.

 

“Shut up and dance already,” LaF calls out from your left, and somehow (probably due to the alcohol), you find the resolve to flip them off as you step closer to Carmilla. 

 

“The uh, kitten has claws,” Carmilla smiles as she wraps her arms around your waist. You follow her lead and settle your arms around her neck before both of you start swaying to the beat. You notice that Carmilla isn't putting her full weight on her right leg, but she doesn't look like she's in pain. Selfishly, you really want to dance with her, so you don't say anything, but you keep an eye out to make sure that it won't get worse. 

 

Elsie stops singing for a moment and goes on to play a beautiful melody on the piano. Your girlfriend’s gaze lifts up from your feet to the stage past you to watch the solo. You pretend the fact that she can’t even seem to look at you doesn’t hurt. Especially when you can’t find the will to stop looking at her, or to stop the stupid grin on your face.

 

The piano solo ends and Carmilla looks back down, although she’s still swaying to the music. You feel that she’s nervous, but you’re not exactly sure about what.

 

You squeeze her shoulder to get her attention. She snaps her head up and looks at you curiously.

 

“You were really awesome earlier, you know that?” you ask her, having to raise your voice slightly so she could hear you over Elsie’s singing.

 

Carmilla looks even more confused.

 

“When you played the piano for me,” you explain. “I didn’t even know you could play.”

 

She shrugs. “Mother insisted that…that we learn how to play something. If you can uh, read music, it’s a sign of… sign of intelligence.”

 

“It’s more than that to you though, isn’t it?” you ask.

 

“I guess,” Carmilla half-smiles. “I can’t believe that I, uh, remembered how to play. It’s been… been quite a few years. Since before I—before I ran away.”

 

“Carm, all I know is that you felt pretty happy,” you smile at her, and she surprises you by mirroring the smile.

 

The crowd cheers as the song ends, and you two slowly stop swaying. Carmilla’s still smiling at you, her eyes closed, and you can’t help but lean in. You hesitate and freeze a few inches away from her face, knowing that Carmilla’s been pretty closed off and hasn’t really wanted to kiss you since she’s gotten back from the hospital. You were surprised when she kissed you back earlier today by the piano, so you don't really want to push your luck tonight. 

 

You were planning to pull back when Carmilla leans forward and kisses you.

 

“You two are so gross. Stop being all over each other; we're in public,” J.P. laughs as he passes by both of you, and although you go to step away to respond, Carmilla simply pulls you closer. She stops kissing you momentarily, resting her forehead on yours, both of your noses touching.

 

You’re about to question her when you see her smirk as she reaches behind herself and waves her arm slightly. Suddenly J.P. trips into some girl holding drinks, causing her to spill them all over the two of them. He apologizes profusely, but the girl simply scoffs at him and turns to head back to her friends.

 

He rubs uselessly at his soaked shirt and looks around to see what he tripped on, but doesn’t see anything on the ground.

 

“That seemed unnecessary,” you frown, bringing your focus back to Carmilla.

 

“Oh come on, sundance. You know—you know he deserved that,” she breathes back before pulling you up in another kiss, and you forget all about J.P.

 

The rest of the night Carmilla seems to come even more out of her shell. She actually catches up with Mattie about life, she dances with Will and the two whisper stories to each other, and she even challenges LaFontaine and Elsie to a drinking contest (Elsie wins, but barely). You aren't the only one that makes her smile that night, and you think that there's progress. She even proves that you don't really need to keep an eye on her, so you even allow yourself have a couple of extra drinks that you weren't originally planning on having.  

 

The entire time you're attempting to get Carmilla's drunk ass upstairs and into bed, your muddled mind is trying to come up with a way to secretly get a keyboard set up in the apartment without her knowing about it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awkward ending? Whoops. The chapter definitely ended up angstier than I planned. Also whoops. 
> 
> Not that this is relevant, but I kind of actually know how to play that song on piano, and I was like /shit/ Carmilla could totally sing this to Laura. 
> 
> This is also your daily reminder that I do not really have any experience with the kind of disability that Carmilla has, and so if I'm doing something offensive or wrong please let me know!
> 
> (Also lowkey changed the chapter title of the first chapter in these extras... I guess we'll see how many Halestorm songs I can make as titles)  
>  
> 
> List of Powers:
> 
> Laura- empathy/empathy clairaudience, emotional manipulation, telekinetic blast
> 
> Perry- health manipulation, force field generation
> 
> LaF- organic manipulation
> 
> Danny- fire/electricity manipulation
> 
> Kirsch- shapeshifting, specifically animals
> 
> Carmilla- shadow manipulation, shadow portal creation
> 
> Will-teleportation, enhanced strength
> 
> Mattie- flight
> 
> Every single power that I use I refer to http://powerlisting.wikia.com/wiki/Superpower_Wiki .
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks!

**Author's Note:**

> Honorary shoutout to my tumblr: cue1go.tumblr.com (It's Marvel, video games, Orphan Black, and Carmilla oriented). 
> 
> I only have like 5 ideas right now, so /please/ request something. Anything. Elsie and Laura hanging out? Sure! J.P. and LaF trying to teach Carmilla how to play a video game? Absolutely! Danny dragging Carmilla to a con dressed as Deathstroke and Deadpool, respectively? Why not! I will literally write anything except smut. The only cupcake Carmilla will be eating in these extras will be the actual pastry. 
> 
> I'll take requests for this both through the comments below and on my tumblr if you're filling a little risky. I won't publish them unless you have a question and are on anon. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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